Biologic paper

Evolution BIOL 350 Fall 2016

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Critique Project for Evolution (BIOL 350): Instructions

Due date: December 06, 2016 Each student will write a critique (review) of the article cited below. All students will read and evaluate the same article, and write a short paper (length of the paper should be 3 to 4 typed pages double-spaced (no more than 4), excluding pages required for the cover page, literature cited, and any figures or tables. This is an independent project so you must do all the work yourself, without any collaboration with other students. Article to be reviewed: Davis, M.P. 2015. Evolutionary relationships of the deep-sea pearleyes

(Aulopiformes: Scopelarchidae) and a new genus of pearleye from Antarctic waters. Copeia 103(1): 64–71.

You will receive an electronic copy of this article from Dr. Harold. Read the article carefully, using the textbook and any other sources you may need from the library to help you understand the subject matter and the concepts involved. The article makes use of ideas in evolutionary biology that involve phylogenetic analysis, lineages, classification, and character data of a morphological and molecular nature. Submit a paper copy in class and an electronic copy (MS Word format; do not use MS Works) as an attachment to an email message to Dr. Harold by the due date (electronic copy can be submitted any time on the due date). A good review should discuss both positive and negative aspects of the article. Here are some questions and points you must consider in writing and formatting your paper. Always justify your position. 1. What are the goals of the article? How clearly are they articulated? 2. Are the goals met in the paper? 3. Are the tables and figures adequate and of sufficiently high quality? If not, make recommendations. 4. Are the methods employed appropriate? Should they have tried other techniques and/or approaches that you are aware of? 5. How carefully edited is the article? Are there editorial/grammatical errors? What about the overall layout of the article? Does it make sense or should some items be presented in another order or other locations in the paper? 6. Other literature: Use the journal databases, available through the library’s webpage, to find one other article published in a primary scientific journal that represents a similar kind of study. Compare the

Evolution BIOL 350 Fall 2016

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Davis (2015) article with the other article and reach conclusions about which paper is most successful (regarding points 1 through 5 above), and why. You should also use other papers from the primary literature to substantiate any information/concepts/ examples you provide in your paper. You should include a minimum of 5 references in your Literature Cited, including the article you are reviewing. “Primary literature” and format of your paper: The primary research literature comprises scientific journals in which original research is published and the article was subjected to peer- review. The journals Evolution, Copeia, Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, Journal of Biogeography, Science, Nature, and Systematic Biology are all good examples of primary sources which may contain articles that could be used to satisfy some of the above requirements. Articles from popular scientific magazines such as Science News, National Geographic, Scientific American, American Scientist, Endeavor, Discover, and New Scientist are not primary sources - and nor are textbooks. Although they are not permitted as primary literature you still may find them useful for gaining familiarity with a topic and as an aid in locating important primary literature that may be cited in them. Follow the format used in the journal Evolution (obtain an article from that journal from the College’s e-journals to provide you with format examples). Your paper should be formatted as though it were a manuscript for submission to Evolution for publication and therefore will differ in some respects from the printed page as seen in a recent issue. The main differences are: your paper should be double spaced (including Literature Cited); typed in a 12 pt. font; in single, not two-column, format; and include a title page stating the title of the paper, your name, the course name and number. Pay particular attention to exactly which headings and subheadings are used in a typical paper in the journal Evolution and how they are formatted. The exact manner in which literature is referred to in the text of your paper and listed in the literature cited section is also critical. You will not need all the sections in your paper that you will see in a typical published article. Your paper should have an introduction, a discussion, literature cited, and any figures or tables you choose to include, and you will need to determine which, if any, headings should be used. You should not include an abstract in your paper. Use primary and secondary headings to help organize your paper. Figures and tables, if included, should be placed one per page at the back of your paper. Grading will be based on both content and format.